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Topic: Interesting G6 and G13 Tunings—Sound Better Than They Should |
Allan Revich
From:
Victoria, BC
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Posted 21 Feb 2022 7:23 pm |
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Tuning is based on the Low Bass open G.
Low Bass G = D G D G B D
Typical G6 = G B E G B D or D G E G B D or E G B G B D
Atypical G6 = G D E G B D
On 7 strings I'm trying our a G13 G D E F G B D. For blues it's fantastic to have both the 6 and the 7 at my fingertips.
One would think that the bass string sequences of the typical G6 tunings would be more logical and should sound better, but for unclear reasons the sequence in my tuning actually sounds pretty nice to my ears.
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Current Tunings:
6 String | G – G B D G B D
7 String | G6 – e G B D G B D (re-entrant)
https://papadafoe.com/lap-steel-tuning-database
Last edited by Allan Revich on 23 Feb 2022 12:33 pm; edited 3 times in total |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 22 Feb 2022 8:04 am
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| I have an old white 6-string Ultratone strung up (low to high) G-B-D-E-G-B, the same intervals as standard C6. I like it alot. There's a bit of a growl in it that's mostly missing from the higher-pitched C6. Great for bluesy stuff. As with C6, it's easy to twist a Kluson or two to obtain G6/E7, E6 and F#11. |
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Allan Revich
From:
Victoria, BC
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Posted 22 Feb 2022 8:20 am
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| Jack Hanson wrote: |
| I have an old white 6-string Ultratone strung up (low to high) G-B-D-E-G-B, the same intervals as standard C6. I like it alot. There's a bit of a growl in it that's mostly missing from the higher-pitched C6. Great for bluesy stuff. As with C6, it's easy to twist a Kluson or two to obtain G6/E7, E6 and F#11. |
Right. I like G based tunings a lot. I think perhaps that the relationship between pitch and string gauges opens up nearly infinite opportunities to experiment with variations. Particularly with 6 string tunings, the G on the bass string is low enough for blues/rock tunings while being high enough for people who like close tunings. |
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Allan Revich
From:
Victoria, BC
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Posted 23 Feb 2022 12:36 pm Cool G13 too!
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Edited my original post to include a really cool 7 string G13 tuning.
G13 – G D E F G B D
I am totally digging this tuning for blues jamming. |
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Joe A. Roberts
From:
Seoul, South Korea
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Posted 23 Feb 2022 1:54 pm Re: Cool G13 too!
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| Allan Revich wrote: |
Edited my original post to include a really cool 7 string G13 tuning.
G13 – G D E F G B D
I am totally digging this tuning for blues jamming. |
Try the same tuning on the same tracks with the B lowered to Bb, there should be some really cool bluesy sounds with that too.
The bottom 5 strings of this tuning reminds me of the bass line to “All Blues.” |
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Allan Revich
From:
Victoria, BC
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Posted 24 Feb 2022 9:48 am Re: Cool G13 too!
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| Joe A. Roberts wrote: |
| Allan Revich wrote: |
Edited my original post to include a really cool 7 string G13 tuning.
G13 – G D E F G B D
I am totally digging this tuning for blues jamming. |
Try the same tuning on the same tracks with the B lowered to Bb, there should be some really cool bluesy sounds with that too.
The bottom 5 strings of this tuning reminds me of the bass line to “All Blues.” |
I may try that after I spend a bit more time with this G13. It’s not the kind of tuning I’m used to, with such close intervals. It has some strange-to-me characteristics. For example, when improvising over a major chord, every string sounds great when arpeggiated, but strumming the same strings can sound terribly discordant if I’m not careful about my choices.
EDIT: Of course I managed to find a G13 that I like better anyway.
f G D E G B D
Moving the 7th to string 7 and making it reentrant opened some strumming opportunities, keeps the 6 & 7 from ever being strummed together, and keeps the top 6 strings identical to my 6 string G6 tuning, G D E G B D.
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Current Tunings:
6 String | G – G B D G B D
7 String | G6 – e G B D G B D (re-entrant)
https://papadafoe.com/lap-steel-tuning-database |
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Robert B Murphy
From:
Mountain View, Arkansas, USA
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Posted 25 Feb 2022 6:44 am
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I've just started using the GDEGBD tuning on a dobro that's not my primary standard tuned one. I was using BDEGBD but found having the root in the bass was more useful for doing travis style rhythmic accompanyment.
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Bob, small o. |
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Allan Revich
From:
Victoria, BC
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Posted 6 Mar 2022 5:08 pm
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| Robert B Murphy wrote: |
| I've just started using the GDEGBD tuning on a dobro that's not my primary standard tuned one. I was using BDEGBD but found having the root in the bass was more useful for doing travis style rhythmic accompanyment. |
Yes, you can get pretty much everything you need out of G6 tunings. On my 6-strings I'm now using eGDGBD. I prefer the re-entrant e to the low E. On my 7-strings I've added the re-entrant e and kept the other 6 strings in Dobro GBDGBD tuning, for eGBDGBD.
I'm not sure why the reentrant sounds better to my ear. Maybe because it acts better as a 6th in major chord songs? Not sure; it still sounds like the root when played in minor chords even though it's an inversion.
I tend to change tunings more often then some people change underwear, so who knows how long this tuning will last! All I can say, is that I liked it a lot today.  
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Current Tunings:
6 String | G – G B D G B D
7 String | G6 – e G B D G B D (re-entrant)
https://papadafoe.com/lap-steel-tuning-database |
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